Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) is a sunny medicinal and edible wild plant. In the past, it was falsely blamed for hayfever allergies, which are actually caused by ragweed. As a medicinal plant, goldenrod can actually be used to treat allergies! Latin solidare means to join or make whole, and when you come upon the medicinal tags … [Read more…]
Wild leek or ramps (Allium tricoccum) is a popular foraged plant by people who aren’t otherwise foragers around here. Some properties have carpets of them. Others have been stripped of them as people don’t know offhand how long the bulbs take to grow and how easy it is to devastate a population of ramps. In … [Read more…]
Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) tends to make a bad impression on first meeting, as the name suggests. But there’s way more to this needled edible and medicinal plant. The sting never lasts long for me, but I’ve heard of it lasting for days for a rare unlucky few. It’s recommended you wear gloves to harvest … [Read more…]
“Balm of Gilead” can be made from various poplar buds including quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), a common edible, medicinal and useful tree in our area. Last month we talked about balsam poplar. But quaking aspen was my first ID’d poplar. I noticed a set of trees on the one-acre wood that softly trembled in the … [Read more…]
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is a scorching edible and medicinal plant that requires patience and expertise to utilize. It’s not for the beginner forager or herbalist. And it’s not really common enough here to use haphazardly. Despite names like Indian or pepper turnip and Starchwort, Jack-in-the-pulpit isn’t just some root you can dig up like burdock … [Read more…]